Stagg Sunday at the VA Chapter Meeting

[angelshare]

Well, fellow enthusiasts, the VA chapter met today at our house. After the meeting was called to order and a quorum was verified, a motion was made to pronounce the second Sunday of June "Stagg Sunday." It was passed unanimously. Fortunately, to celebrate, between us - Linn, Gary, Tina & Dave - we had all five versions of Stagg. Seemed like a great opportunity for a blind tasting!

Tina was the pourer, but, technically unblinded, she picked the 2003 HAZMAT Stagg as her favorite. We'll let Gary and Linn weigh in on their impressions in more detail, but a few personal and group observations that arose in our tasting and discussion:

1) No one successfully identified the two Spring Stagg versions as a pair in the blinded tasting. I personally thought the KY 05 and the 02 were the most alike when blinded.

2) Tina & both felt the 04 stood out as the most different nose of the bunch. I thought it had a hint of lemon not present in any of the others.

3) I picked the 2002 as the flavor winner and tied with the KY 05 for best nose.

4) I felt all of the Staggs had a common heavy buttery quality to the mouth with the most pronounced being the 02.

5) I had the hardest time describing the flavors of the 03 - perhaps it was the high proof, but even after a splash of water I found it overwhelming, intense and complex. Clearly the most challenging to me.

My ranking blinded:
1) 02
2) Non-KY 05
3) KY 05
4) 03
5) 04

[angelshare]

More Stagg Sunday photos!

[angelshare]

Still more photos!

[OneCubeOnly]

Great shots Dave! Most of my pictures are essentially duplicates of yours, with the exception of this one--it's a closeup of the labels. At full resolution you can read the proof numbers, but at attachment size you have to strain a bit to read:

[Brewer]

Way to go Virginia chapter! Excellent choice for a tasting. I'm curious as to Linn and Gary's analysis.

[OneCubeOnly]

Gosh, from those photos you'd think I was in deep, careful thought while writing those tasting notes! But the sad truth was this: these bottlings are all so similar I really felt humbled and didn't write much. I believe all three of us concurred on one thing: Buffalo Trace has definitely nailed down a distinct, uniform profile with Stagg. There was no doubt these were the same product.

As for my favorite(s), my nosing favorite was the Kentucky-only 2005 (Lot A @ 130.9). It seemed to have some floral hints which I didn't pick up in any of the others. My least favorite nose was the 2004--it seemed very 'hot' and seemed to be the only one that the familiar vanilla/caramel hints couldn't overshadow the alcohol burn.

We tasted all of these at barrel proof (ouch!) and then diluted with spring water. My tasting favorite at both strengths was the 2005 Non-KY (Lot B @ 131.8 ). It seemed the most balanced at barrel proof and opened up to what I called "the best flavor cascade" when diluted.

Interestingly enough, the same bottle that seemed the oddball during the nosing was also the most unique during tasting: the 2004. Of the bunch, it tasted the most alcoholic (I actually wrote "medicinal", but not in a camphor or eucalyptus way--I think it was just plain alcohol burn). All the same flavors were there, but the alcohol punch overpowered it more than the others. Strange, because this is the weakest proof of the five! (I falsely predicted this in my notes to be the '03!)

My order of preference was this:

1. 2005 Non-KY (Lot B @ 131.8pr)
2. 2005 KY-only (Lot A @ 130.9pr)
3. 2002 (137.6pr)
4. 2003 (142.7pr)
5. 2004 (129pr)

Linn had the idea to mix all five into one final blend--and I believe it was the best of all!!

Thanks again to Dave and Tina for hosting the VA BE.com Chapter Meeting! Good bourbon, good food, good weather, and good company--what more could you ask for!?

[White Lightning]

Quite interesting results. It seems that most like the 2003 over the 2004 which I'm a bit surprised. As Angleshare said, I find the 03 bottle to be "challenging". Many seem to use similarly non descript terms (at least not typical bourbon terms) when trying to describe the 03, but I find those same persons to rate it more favorable than the 04. I haven't gone back to the 03, having plenty of fond memories from the one bottle I did dismantle, but you guys make me wonder (read want to).

I can't keep up, but wasn't the 2004 so far rated the highest (on paper)? - Not that ratings mean anything but just trying to keep it all in tow mentally.

[bunghole]

One thing is for sure - We all had a great time. Dave & Tina Angelshare are the perfect host & hostess. Many thanks for hosting this stellar tasting event!

[Brewer]

Nice pix Linn, but what I want to know is...did you like anything you drank? If so, details man, details!

[bunghole]

This was an awesome challenge and a damn tastey line up! The drive to and from Luray, Virginia is beautiful. On the way home I had the Moonroof wide open and all the windows. My reporter's notebook flew out somewhere along the way. So I'll have to go from memory. Luckily this was a very memorable event.

We were all looking for both simularities and differences bewteen the expressions. Plus trying to find any common flavor components between the five. Daunting at first - it ended as a great success!

1) 2002 - This was my favorite of all.

2) Lot B Spring 2005 - Non- Kentucky

3) Lot A Spring 2005 - Kentucky Only

4) 2004

5) 2003

What we did find was a rich buttered sweet char with a vanilla caramel candy tone running throughout each expression to differing degrees.

What we did not find was any pepperment; spearmint or even the slightest hint of a mint of anykind. No not even a buttermint. Which is a good thing to my way of thinking as I don't like minty tasting whiskey.

I had a wonderful time! THANK YOU DAVE & TINA!

[TNbourbon]

I find the lack of mint Linn notes interesting, as it speaks to how different each of our senses are. Mint is the prominent feature to me of the 2005 bottlings, both in the entry and finish -- and yet almost everyone else I've compared notes with doesn't find it all, or at least not as prominently. I believe all of you guys don't really taste it, and that my palate is the oddball. But I DO sense strong peppermint every time I taste the 2005. I've even tasted it side-by-side with other Staggs, and it jumps out at me in the 2005.
Doesn't really matter -- I, too, think it's as good a Stagg as I've had (my only 2002 remains unopened). Just interesting.

[bourbonv]

It looks like you all had a great time. Great Bourbon and great friends - it don't get better than that! I wish I could have been there. Maybe Linn can arrange something the next time I am in that part of the country.

Mike Veach

[bunghole]

Tim - when I read your tasting notes on the 2005 Stagg I was shocked, and went back for another taste. Mint is very strong in both aroma and flavor. I like mint - just not in my bourbon. It's not something I would miss.

Mike - We'll see what we can arrange whenever you're in Virginia.

Dave & Tina - I left the two sets of antlers behind the whiskey room door, and forgot to take them home with me. I hope you have found them already, and your little girls haven't.

ima

[bunghole]

Nice pix Linn, but what I want to know is...did you like anything you drank? If so, details man, details!

Well Bob, I was working on the details when you posted this.

Here's a few things I left out. I cannot stress the importance of proper glassware enough. We had only five Glencarin glasses between us, so we all used them for the nosing portion of the tasting. This of course took a little extra time. Always use identical glasses, as this takes the glass out of the equation, and gives each bourbon an equal stance.

Since we were compairing five Staggs the color of the bourbon was not a big issue, and the viscosity was essentially the same. In a five way shoot out of different bourbons color and viscosity differences between the bourbons is a big deal. So you'll want glassware that facilitates such observations.

Nosing is a great big deal and the Glencarin glass is a great noser with wonderful focus. It also has fairly good swirling action. So swirl & nose. Swirl & nose.

As far as taste and finish goes you can drink out of anything as the type of glass is no longer in play. Except perhaps on a psychological level where you might like the bourbon out of the nice crystal glass better than the recycled babyfood jar (don't laugh - they work!).

If you are serious about your tasting, five bourbons are aplenty! Don't over do it, and take your time. You'll be surprised how fast a couple of hours will fly by.

Always; always, always taste blind out of identical glasses! In a tasting of discovery it is essential to take as much personal preference and subliminal psychological factors out of the equation. In a five way shoot out between popular small batchers such as Knob Creek; Woodford Reserve, Buffalo Trace, Elijah Craig, & Ridgemont Reserve 1792 for example you are going to already have your favorites. But blind in identical glassware is a challenge. Doing it in a group is even more fun!

The learning never ends.

ima

[angelshare]

I left the two sets of antlers behind the whiskey room door, and forgot to take them home with me. I hope you have found them already, and your little girls haven't.

Don't worry, we got 'em. Don't you hate it when you leave your antlers at somebody's else's house?

We want to extend a big thanks to Gary & Linn for being willing to make the drive and extra thanks to Linn for guiding us through the set up for the tasting. A valuable learning experience for us indeed!

Not to flog a dead horse, but the biggest surprise to me was that to all of us the 05 lots were not an obvious pair. I was also bummed that my top pick was the least available (02).

Later in the day I also revealed a deep dark secret - I like ER 17 better than Stagg. Tina also maintained her alliance to ORVW 10 year vs. Stagg. Sounds like a perfect set up for a blind tasting - except it's hard to blind yourself to Stagg at barrel proof.

Later that evening, I poured a small serving of ER SB 10 yr. Hadn't had the Stagg for at least six hours. My first impression was "WATERED DOWN." A Stagg tasting really adjusts your palate for the rest of the day.